Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance

Since its founding in 2003, the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance has been working to advance the smart growth agenda of increasing housing choices and affordability, bettering our transportation system, protecting our natural resources and parks, and promoting economic development and jobs creation. Though much remains to be done, we are proud of what we’ve achieved so far. Below are some of our notable achievements:

Drafted zoning and planning reform legislation

Along with the Zoning Reform Task Force, the Alliance helped to draft a zoning reform bill that overhauls Massachusetts’ antiquated zoning laws. This framework will articulate state land-use objectives, encourage smart growth planning, promote consistency between local plans and local zoning, and strengthen regional planning agencies. We are also conducting research on progressive local land-use practices throughout the state, reaching out directly to municipalities, and engaging the grassroots membership of the Alliance.

Helped pass housing bond, transportation bond, and environmental bond bills

Alliance members helped influence and pass a Housing Bond Bill ($1.3 billion), Transportation Bond Bill ($3.5 billion and $1.45 billion), and Environmental Bond Bill ($1.66 billion) representing nearly $8 billion dollars of needed investment. The Alliance voiced opposition to projects, such as new highway interchanges, that do not fit the smart growth vision for a prosperous and sustainable Massachusetts. The Alliance also held a series of discussions with the state’s Budget Director and other Administration and Finance staff about how improve capital spending coordination and accountability among agencies.

Stimulated redevelopment in areas of existing infrastructure

As a result of Alliance advocacy led by CHAPA and MACDC, the Patrick Administration announced the creation of the Gateway Plus Action Grant (GPAG) program to help cities identify their specific housing or mixed-use development needs to enhance their economic vitality and the quality of life for all residents. Encouraged the state to initiate corridor planning to coordinate state investment and environmental review for three regions experiencing severe development pressures, including the Route 128 corridor between the MassPike and Route 3, where 15 major private developments are currently under MEPA review.

Ensured adequate public process in Brownfields Covenants program

The Alliance successfully incorporated modifications into the Brownfield Covenant Not to Sue regulations to ensure adequate public process and participation. The amendments build on the success of the Brownfields Covenant Program by making the application process more efficient, clarifying the rules, and better enabling Brownfields Covenants to work for the most challenging contaminated properties in the Commonwealth. These changes are intended to make contaminated properties more attractive to developers without sacrificing the Commonwealth’s cleanup standards or other environmental goals. The amended regulations are effective October 17, 2008.

Increased capital dollars earmarked for land protection

A coordinated effort to increase the state’s spending for land protection led to a commitment by the administration of a minimum of $50 million annually over the next five years. ELM played a key role on behalf of the Alliance in advocating for the increase through meetings with officials from Energy and Environmental Affairs and Administration and Finance secretariats. The Patrick administration’s commitment is reflected in a five-year capital plan that they released last month. The Alliance will also work on an environmental bond bill that is being developed and expected to be introduced this fall which will be the legislative companion to the capital planning document.

Secured commitments from state agencies towards sustainable development

Last summer, the Governor’s Office publicly committed to sustainable development principles to guide the Commonwealth’s development and issued a revised version of the Commonwealth Capital Fund. The Fund includes a number of state grant programs that municipalities seek for a variety of purposes such as economic development or water and sewer infrastructure. When making funding decisions for these particular grant programs, the state will consider and add to their scoring scheme how well cities and towns are advancing smart growth. The adoption of principles and the revision of the Fund were driven by Alliance recommendations to the new administration.

Achieved progress on state investments in infrastructure

Last year we successfully campaigned to raise the state bond cap from $1.25 to 1.5 billion which, while remaining fiscally responsible, will release hundreds of millions of additional state dollars for badly needed infrastructure investment. Following on the heels of that victory, the administration submitted a series of major bond bills representing more than $6 billion in capital authorizations for the next five years. The Alliance has been working diligently on these bills to ensure that the state’s capital investments in housing, transportation, and environment are both efficient and effective. We are also working with state agencies including the Executive Office of Administration and Finance to establish guidelines and administrative reforms to ensure that the state’s investments be consistent with the state’s sustainable development principles.

Deflected proposed legislation that would have subsidized sprawl growth

We believed that a “starter home” proposal generated by several members of the Commonwealth Housing Task Force and supported by a number of prominent institutions would have had major implications for inducing sprawl at the suburban fringe. We were concerned that the proposal could potentially transfer millions of state dollars from more diverse lower-income to overwhelmingly white higher-income municipalities, establish new financial incentives for sprawl and weaken environmental protections. After talks with this group, the proposal was reformed.

Educated the Governor and his Development Cabinet on smart growth

The Alliance was invited to present our smart growth agenda to Governor Patrick, Lieutenant Governor Murray and five Secretaries at a monthly Development Cabinet meeting in November of 2007. In addition to presenting data revealing the disturbing trends of our state’s current development patterns, we also expressed the need for greater inter-agency coordination within the administration and urged the implementation of the Governor’s own sustainable development principles throughout state funding and permitting programs. Our presentation has led to new discussions among the administration’s agencies about operationalizing the sustainable development principles and, in particular, provoked a new willingness to collaborate between the Executive Office of Transportation and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Developed a small cities proposal for DHCD

The Alliance, led by MACDC and CHAPA, convened a working group to develop a proposal to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development for a pilot program targeting the Commonwealth’s smaller cities. We believe that a new agenda is required for the particular challenges faced by these urban areas, which are often forgotten by major policy, research, and funding institutions. The principal goal of the proposal is to help revitalize and stabilize distressed neighborhoods in these cities which are facing significant economic and community development challenges.

Built a coalition that is making the case for new transportation revenues

The Alliance has identified shortfalls in transportation funding as a significant barrier to smart growth development. To address this issue, we have pulled together a broad coalition of organizations called the Transportation Investment Coalition that includes about thirty members representing labor, business, industry, planners, municipalities, environmental organizations, housing organizations and other stakeholders. The Coalition has made significant progress educating legislators about the urgency of the Commonwealth’s transportation funding crisis and most recently has worked to advance a transportation bond bill and reform measures to begin to address transportation funding needs.

Prepared a policy paper on sustainable water management for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

The Alliance drafted an extensive memo detailing recommendations to Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles about how to reform our water management practices. Our water team continues its work to identify elements of our recommendations that we can advance over the next year. Some of these initiatives will likely include: advocacy to ensure that any expansion in MWRA water infrastructure must be linked to local land use changes that support smart growth; a research project on septic technologies to support more compact development in the suburbs; and the production of outreach materials to educate municipalities and the general public on sustainable water management.